Frank Woods x Reader

Forty-Four

Bell's breathing started to slow down. Instead of long, heavy breaths, he just took small ones, silent and calm.

His eyes flickered. He was getting tired.

You stood next to him, hiding his face from the window so that the others outside didn't see that he was about to die.

"Can... I ask you something?", he suddenly raised his eyes.

With a calming smile, you nodded.

"Sure.", you lowered yourself to be closer to his lips.

It was hard to pick up his words. His voice was getting weak.

"Woods... he- he always called you mushroom...", his face relaxed. "I find it odd..."

A chuckle escaped you.

"When we were dating we used to live near a mountain. It was covered in green. When the weather was good, we'd walk up to our small cabin and spend a few nights there. We once ran out of food and it was raining buckets, so going back wasn't an option."

Bell smiled.

"That sounds... nice..."

"It was."

"I think... I think I remember... a mountain..."

"Your home?"

"I- I don't know...", he smiled like someone who remembered something after a long time. "Keep telling me... the story... p-please..."

"Hm. I thought it'd be a good idea to go and see what nature had to offer. The old man actually shot a deer that day.", you had to smile as you remembered. "I gathered herbs and other stuff."

"And mushrooms?", he asked with a grin.

You huffed.

"I was pretty sure they were edible, but the old man insisted I'd try some first. Was the trip of my lifetime. I've never done drugs before and after that I knew I didn't want to try."

Chuckling, he squeezed his eyes shut.

"That's... one way to get a nickname...", his facial expression turned serious. "I- I... I envy you for what you have... I don't remember if I ever loved someone. And if I did..."

"Adler took them from you...", you said, feeling like the world was crumbling down.

Chuckling, he shook his head. It wasn't a happy laugh, but a sound that a man did who knew he had nothing else left to do.

"At least it's over...", his eyes fell shut. "Soon..."

One last long, weak breath escaped his lips.

And just like that he was out like a candle.

Gone.

Adler would kill you if he'd find out you helped Bell out of this mess. Even if it wasn't a pleasant kind of help.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you took a deep breath in and let your head fall.

"Shit...", you pulled the mask down again to cover his face. "I hope you didn't put me into shit, Bell..."

With a strangely heavy feeling in your chest, you lowered your eyes and had to massage the bridge of your nose.

Somehow, this felt like a terrible mistake.

Yet again, he knew exactly what he was doing. And he was right.

You did look on his eyes and there wasn't a single hint of doubt in them.

It sounded weird, but as a manipulator, you were trained to pick up the slightest changes and reactions in people. Eyes were one of the easiest ways to see if people were lying because the pupils reacted to what the brain was thinking.

"Fine...", you took another deep breath and tapped the glass.

Sims walked up. His eyes wandered through the room before coming to a rest on Bell's body.

He frowned in confusion, only to tear his eyes wide open in panic.

Quickly, he opened the door.

But before he could rush into the room, you placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back out. You closed the door again.

"The nukes are in Solovetsky.", you said without missing a beat. "Go tell Adler Bell didn't make it."

Sims slightly shook his head.

"He'll end you.", he hissed.

"That will be my problem."

"How are you so sure that he told you the truth?"

"He was dying and his only option was Adler's methods or my mercy."

"He could have lied to you anyways."

"He could have."

"What if he did?"

"Then my abilities to read people has weakened over the years.", you gifted him a grim glance. "Get Adler. And don't try arguing with him. I'll take the blame."

He wanted to say something, but kept himself back and just shook his head. Without another word, he turned around and rushed to Adler.

You watched as they talked for a moment.

Adler's head snapped around. Throwing his cigarette away, he walked over. The look on his face was deadly.

"He's dead?", he asked in such an icy voice that it could have killed.

Gathering all your courage, you nodded.

"He was dying, you said. So we made a deal."

"You killed him?"

"I showed him mercy. Something he would have gotten from you."

With his eyebrows knitted together, he came so close that it suggested he was about to strangle you.

"You're damn right I wouldn't have! He was our only way to find Perseus."

You shrugged.

"The nukes are in Solovetsky."

"He lied to you."

"Are you questioning my availabilities?"

"I'm questioning your sanity."

"Call me an idiot all you want, but the nukes are in Solovetsky. Call Hudson. We need to move fast."

You wanted to push past him, but he grabbed you by the arm and pushed you back harshly.

Annoyed, you slapped his hand away.

"You're waisting time.", you hissed. "Get Hudson here. Now."

But Adler shook his head.

"Now that Woods isn't here to jump like a little guard dog, I need to have a word with you. You've been doing whatever you wanted since day one. I got you on the team to keep an eye on Bell and now you kill him?"

Frowning, you crossed your arms in front of your chest.

"Keep bitching around, but I did my job."

"You took the word of a dying man for facts."

"And you could have done it better? Even if you would have tortured him, he might have been able to lie."

"I would have made sure he didn't."

"Bullshit!", you pushed him aside. "Now call Hudson. We're running out of time."